Illini Country Club Golf Course Management: Drainage

Relatively mild weather has afforded us an opportunity to continue our end-of-season work on the golf course. Final applications of fungicide, fertilizer, and sand topdressing have been made; golf course accessories (such as ball washers and tee markers) have been removed; and leaf and debris cleanup is nearing completion. We are also in the midst of an important course-improvement project…DRAINAGE!

As you may recall, the spring of 2015 was a wet one that resulted in several course closures and event cancellations. Without adequate drainage, low-lying areas collect surface runoff and create pools of standing water. Without intervention, these puddles can take hours or even days to percolate into the soil. Inadequately draining soil can be detrimental to a golf course. Unplayable lies, unpleasing aesthetics, insect and turf-disease breeding grounds, and potential turf loss are all possible results of waterlogged soil. Not to mention the cost of labor involved in having to repeatedly pump water puddles and then hand-mow the remaining soft and sensitive playing surfaces. Yikes!

Due to the flat nature of the property, several areas on the golf course are prone to holding water, specifically on the west side of Chatham Road. While the maintenance staff does its best to expedite post-rain recovery, the only real preventative solution is to re-grade these areas and install drainage. We have recruited the talents of contractor Larry Denton to help avert our drainage issues. Again, with limited options available based on how incredibly flat the west side of the golf course is, coming up with a solution to move surface water certainly is no easy task. Larry, whose pedigree includes working with golf course architect Pete Dye and a long career with the PGA was up for the challenge.

Most of Larry’s work has been focused in the fairway and rough areas of hole-4 and hole-5. These areas saw the most turf damage during last spring’s rainstorms. New catch basins and lateral drainage pipe have been installed, and connect into the existing drain lines that were installed during the bunker renovation project. In addition, mild re-grading has been selectively performed to help move water toward the catch basins. Final grading, seeding, and sodding of the work area will be completed in the spring.